Methinks The Last Great Day Has Come

A Historic Snapshot…

The Rev. Abishai Alden was the fifth pastor of the Montville Center Congregational Church (Montville, CT).  During the pastorate of Reverend Alden, one of the most phenomenal things to occur to this church happened.  On May 23^rd, 1823, according to the New England Farmer Newspaper, the following event took place.

“On Sunday afternoon this vicinity was visited by a thunderstorm which prostrated several barns, fences, trees, &tc, and occasioned other destruction.  At Montville, while the Rev. Pastor of the church in that place was directing the attention of his flock to the tempest by reading the hymn which begins:

                                “Methinks the last great day has come

                                Methinks I hear the trumpet sound

                                That shakes the earth, rends every tomb

                                And wakes the prisoners underground.”

                                (sung to the tune of “Old Hundreth” – a.k.a. “The Doxology”)

A bolt of lightning struck the cupola of the meetinghouse, shattered the belfry, shivered several of the posts and pews in the interior, and instantly killed Mrs. Bradford, a widow aged 72, and Mary Comstock, a child of nine years of age, and injured several other persons.”

Caroline Chester Comstock was prostrated by this stroke, but survived and lived to a ripe old age.  Immediately following this awful event was the most powerful revival ever enjoyed by this church.

The Montville Center Congregational Church was founded in 1722, and continues today as the Oakdale Community Church.  Rev. Kenneth D. Beres (my father) served as the pastor of the Montville Center Congregational Church from 1970 to 1978.

Thank you for letting me share this memory with you...

I bid you peace...

Dr. Ken+